These Women
by Magali1
Summary: A series of vignettes about certain qualities the FNL women have. Each chapter is a different POV and 'quality.' Becky, Mindy, Lyla, Tyra, Julie, and Tami.
1. Lover

**A/N:**Okay, I know I said I didn't have anything in the works, but this was an old fic on my computer that I'm updating/editing. It's a series of vignettes, all in the same 'universe.' My usual fare when I'm not doing a multichapter. Each chapter is one of the female characters that I don't mind writing: Becky, Lyla, Tyra, Tami, Julie, and Mindy. Enjoy :)

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**Chapter 1: Lover (Becky)**

"So when does Luke come home?"

Becky twirled her cranberry juice around on the counter, looking up at Tim, who was leaning over the bar and taking a few empty glasses from the people who'd just left. She lifted up the glass, swishing it from side to side. "Can you please put some vodka in here? Pretty please? I won't tell." She smiled sweetly and leaned forward. "Pleeeease?"

Tim ignored her feminine wiles, which hadn't gotten much use in the last few months. He jerked his thumb back towards a sign that proclaimed they carded everyone under 40. "You're not 40. Take that as a compliment, Mindy got pissed that I didn't card her."

She glanced over her shoulder at Mindy, who was forcing Billy to dance, spinning her around nonstop. She smiled at her older sister/mother, turning and glancing back at Tim. "She's just glad to be out of the house. It's nice when Tyra comes to town, she's instant sitter." She smirked. "I bet you like it too."

He narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head, not answering. She picked up the glass again, pushing it towards him. Tim took it and picked up a nozzle from beneath the bar, squirting some clear liquid into it. Ooh, did I finally annoy him enough to convince, she wondered, taking the glass. She frowned, sniffed and then took a small sip. He grinned at her scowl. "Tonic water."

"This isn't vodka."

"And you're not 21."

"Eight months!"

"I really don't care. I'm not getting fired."

"You hate this job."

No sooner had the words left her mouth did Buddy walk out from behind the bar, holding up a photo. He tacked it to the bulletin board, grinning proudly and then walked back into the bar without saying a word. Tim looked at the picture, shaking his head and muttering. "Yeah, hate is an understatement."

Becky looked at the picture, wincing. "That an engagement photo?"

"Guy's a douche."

You'd think he was a douche; the guy was marrying your ex-girlfriend. Wonder if Tyra knows, she thought. Might explain why he'd been in a foul mood the last week. She looked down at her left hand, twisting the small diamond ring that Luke had gotten her the last time he was in between deployments. She insisted on keeping his state ring, but he said that had been more of a promise than anything and she needed a proper diamond. Since his salary was peanuts, he'd felt kind of embarrassed giving her the small ring, but she could care less. She still wore the state ring on a chain around her neck.

She pulled off the engagement ring, twisting it around. "Hey Tim," she said, turning towards him, but he'd walked off to get someone's order, surly and annoyed after seeing the engagement photo Buddy just put up. God help that person, she figured, when Tim slammed something down in front of the man. She went to put the ring back on her finger when it slipped, skidding off the bar and onto the floor. "Shit," she cursed, sitting up slightly on the stool and leaning over, spying it between the wall and the edge of the ice chest.

Damnit, Tim was busy and she couldn't sneak back without someone noticing. She looked around and shrugged, nervously falling back onto the stool. Once Tim was done she'd have him get it. It wasn't a big deal, not like it went down a drain or anything.

I'll just drink my non-alcoholic drink in a bar. Alone. She rolled her eyes; pathetic. I'm pathetic. She set the drink down, turning her head slightly when someone sat beside her. It was a guy she'd gone to high school with, but she couldn't remember his name. Jim, maybe? He smiled at her, nodding. "Hey Becky."

Clearly you know me. "Hello," she greeted him. She squinted. "Jim, right?"

"That's right. How's it going since Dillon East?"

"Not bad."

"What're you doing now?"

"I'm going to Dillon Tech," she said. She was finishing her Associate's degree in business, she planned on managing whatever Tim ended up doing with the part-time thing he had on the side with carpentry. He didn't know it yet, but she had an idea. Just needed to sit with it for awhile. She smiled. "How about you?" If she remembered Jim right, if it was the same one, he was doing something with the city.

"Working on the road crew. I'm a supervisor now. It's got benefits."

I don't have benefits, she thought. She would, once she and Luke got married. She smiled again. "You seeing anyone?" Well that came out direct, she realized, closing her eyes briefly when he lifted an eyebrow. "Ah…sorry, didn't mean it like that."

"No, it's fine. No I'm not," he said, looking over at Tim. He frowned. "Does he know that he has to get tips?"

"No, he really doesn't." You tipped Tim because if you didn't he'd follow you out to your car and break your knees with the bat kept beneath the bar. Not really, but she thought it would be funny if he did. She waved her hand. "His ex-girlfriend is engaged. He's not thrilled about it."

"That sucks." He looked over when Tim stormed towards him, throwing a coaster down. "Can I get a beer?"

"ID," Tim snapped. He glanced at Becky and pointed at her. "He is not buying you anything."

"I didn't say anything!"

"You're thinking it."

"You're an idiot." Tim glanced at her left hand, frowning slightly, but didn't say anything, turning to get Jim the beer he'd requested, slamming it down and then walking off again to clear tables. Becky swallowed nervously, looking back at Jim again. "Sorry about him. He's been in a bad mood the last…well probably for the last five years."

"It's fine." Jim smiled again, a little softer this time. He had nice eyes, she thought. He wasn't bad to look at. Kind of average. Not Luke, she thought, her heart clenching. "So are you seeing anyone?"

"Um…" She rubbed at her left hand, the ring finger kind of sad it was missing its mate. "Yeah…I'm…" She sighed again, her voice quiet. "I'm engaged. I dropped my ring, it's under the ice chest."

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine, I'll get Tim to get it, but…yeah I'm engaged," she said, smiling again. She shrugged. "It's fine, I…he's…" She felt tears prick the corners of her eyes for some reason. "I'm sorry. He's in Afghanistan. Army. He's…he's in the engineer corps or something, he does something with water." Teaches them about watering crops or something, she thought. Luke explained to her, but he didn't like talking about what he did overseas. She didn't really like hearing about it; after one time when he'd had a nightmare, she didn't want to hear about it anymore. It was easier to think of him happily running around a protected fortress of a military base instead of going out into the villages and getting shot at, but she knew he was helping people. It still hurt though, sometimes.

Tim came back over, scowling at her again. "Becky," he stated, his voice low and drawling. "Do you realize you're not wearing your engagement ring?" He glanced at Jim, scowling deeper. "She's engaged. To a guy in the Army. He has guns."

"Tim it's Texas, everyone has a gun." Becky swallowed a gulp of cranberry juice, rolling her eyes. "Mindy has a gun in her purse right now."

"The hell? Why?"

"In case Billy gets too frisky, that's what she says at least." She smiled, watching him walk away, shrugging at Jim's nervous look. "Ignore him. He's all bark."

"He gave my brother a concussion and he had to get fifteen stitches after a game in high school."

"That's football." She set her glass down, smiling a little. "Luke's been gone for…" She blew out a hard breath. "Ten months so far? I have four before he's finally…" She trailed off, looking at her purse, which was moving across the bar. She smiled. "Excuse me." She grabbed the phone, her eyes lighting up at the 'unknown' number. "Ah…I have to take this. It's been nice talking to you."

Jim tilted his beer bottle towards her. "Tell your fiancé thanks."

"Will do," she said, smiling and getting up from the bar, hurrying outside and to Tim's truck. She brought down the back hatch, hopping up onto it and holding the phone to her ear. "Luke?"

"Hey! What're you doing?"

She giggled, knocking her feet back and forth. "Flirting with Tim."

"I hate when you joke like that."

"He's in a foul mood. Lyla's engaged."

"Who is that?"

"Nevermind, long story. So where are you right now?" she asked, looking up at the moon. It was massive tonight; she thought she could see every footprint on it. Bright too. Like a cool sun. She always liked the moonlight, especially in the summer. It just…made it seem softer somehow, if that make sense, which she didn't think it did.

Luke's voice crackled in and out; she strained to hear. "Um…in…can't…say."

Becky closed her eyes. "Luke? Are you there? I can barely hear you."

"Connection…not…great."

"Yeah, I can tell," she chuckled, straining harder to hear his voice, her eyes closing tight. Don't cry. Don't cry, not when you're talking to him. "I miss you."

"You…too…"

"Luke?" she cried. "Come on, just…just go to the window or something?" She heard more static, sighing. She looked back up at the moon. It was daytime over there, but…the moon was still out in the day. She held her thumb up, covering the moon and then moving it again. "I can see the moon," she said; maybe he didn't hear her, but she hoped he could. She sighed again, whispering. "I love you. Wherever you are. I'm here. Come home." She paused, closing her eyes tight. Damnit. He was gone. Connection lost.

She lowered the phone down, hitting the 'end' button. I hate this, I didn't sign up for this, she thought, looking back at the bar. She dropped her gaze back to her hand. I'm twenty. It'd be nice to go out on a Saturday night and actually have fun. Not sit at the bar alone, talking to guys I can't go home with, and…and just waiting for a phone to ring.

"Missing something?"

Becky looked up, smiling when she saw Tim walking towards her, holding out her ring. "Thanks." She waited a moment, frowning at it. "Did you wash this?"

"Nope." Damnit. She pulled out some antiseptic from her purse, squirting it on the ring before she put it back onto her left hand. Tim hopped up beside her, leaning his shoulder into hers. It used to be he couldn't stand her around him, now she thought that he wanted her around a lot. Sometimes he'd just show up outside her house, acting like it was no big deal. He looked down at her hand, smiling slightly. "When is the big day, you haven't said?"

"When he comes home. October 24," she said, her voice soft. It was the only day that would work out. He was home for a month. Usually. She prayed he'd get more time between these next deployments. Becky leaned her head on his shoulder, whispering. "I'm sorry about Lyla."

He shrugged, looking up at the sky. "Haven't seen her in months. Haven't dated her in years. It's just kind of annoying."

"Where's Tyra?"

Another shrug. "Haven't seen her in awhile either."

You really are lonely, she thought, looking up at him and smiling again. "I love you," she whispered, giving him a big hug. She felt him tense up; he didn't like to be touched without permission. After a few minutes, he finally loosened a bit, his arm going around her shoulders. Becky closed her eyes, whispering. "I miss Luke. Feel like I need someone to love while he's gone. Mindy says I…I have a big heart. It's too big sometimes."

"That's silly." He waited a moment, his voice barely audible when he spoke. "Kind of true." I have to love people, I can't help it, she thought. She opened her eyes, still hugging him, and glanced at the moon again. I love you Luke, she thought, closing her eyes again. I'll keep waiting. As long as it takes. She felt Tim brush his lips over her hair, hugging a little tighter. "I love you too Becks."

Her eyes opened again and she smiled. Good. "You'll find someone," she said. Probably someone I won't like or approve of, but someone.

They were silent a few more minutes. Until Tim sighed, whispering. "I already have. Problem is…" He shook his head, letting go of her. "Forget it. It's all in the past." He hopped off the truck, lifting her lightly and setting her on her feet before he closed up the back hatch. "Come back inside."

"I'll just be a minute." Most people would ask if she was sure. Protest. Come inside, they'd probably say. Tim just shrugged, left her alone, and returned to the bar. She liked that about him. He just let her have her space when she wanted it. He didn't demand to know her every thought about Luke being gone. Maybe he didn't care, which was possible, but she doubted that. He was still colder after his time in jail, but he wasn't completely frozen.

She leaned against the truck again, twisting her ring. You love, Mindy told her. A lot. Really, really hard. Becky smiled, holding her thumb up to the moon, making it disappear and then seeing it return. She pulled out her phone, tappign the email icon on the bottom. A moment later, she was smiling down at the photo Luke had sent her of the sun. _The moon is somewhere out here too. _She held up her phone and took a picture, sending it to him. She smiled again, looking back up at it. I love you, she thought again, turning and going back to the bar.


	2. Mother

**Chapter 2: Mother (Mindy)**

God save the person who stands in my way.

She pushed through the double doors of the emergency room, her heels clicking angrily on the dirty linoleum floor. It seemed as though crowds parted. At least, it felt like it. I don't care that I just ran out of work. I don't care that people are looking at me like I've escaped from the psycho ward. I just don't care.

Where is my baby, damnit!?

Her hands slammed down on the registration desk. "Steven Riggins," she demanded. If you don't give me an answer, I will strangle you with the G-string in my pocket, she thought, glaring at the nurse who looked up from her computer. She slammed her hand down again. "Come on! Where is he? He's six years old! Was brought in from daycare, tell me where he is right now, because downstairs that lady didn't know her head from her ass and sent me to the old person ward!" That had been terrifying, she hated dying old people.

The nurse nodded quickly. "Um, relation?"

"Lady, do I look like his sister? I'm his mother!" I'm his mother and he's my baby and I don't know what's happening, she wanted to cry. She bit down hard on her lower lip, tears flooding into her eyes. It had been a whirlwind of emotions since she got the phone call. Her voice wavered. "I'm sorry, please just…just tell me where my baby is, please." You catch more bees with honey than with vinegar, her momma told her. Although right now the last thing she could think of was being sweet.

The nurse nodded, smiling slightly. "Of course, I'm sorry. Mrs. Riggins? He's in room five, just down the hall there, I'll take you." I don't need you to take me, she thought, hurrying away from the desk and down the hall to exam room five. It was bright and cheery, with trains and cars painted on the blue walls and the sheets on the small bed covered in teddy bears.

An aide from the kindergarten class was sitting with him, the two of them playing some sort of memory game that he was obsessed with. Concentration? Was that it? She couldn't remember. It didn't matter. "Stevie!" she exclaimed, running into the room, throwing herself on top of the little boy. Her arms enveloped him up into her arms, feeling his tiny little hands curling into the back of her neck.

I can't feel my body, she thought, closing her eyes and clutching him, rocking back and forth. "Momma," he chirped in her ear, completely oblivious to the rush of emotions. The pain and the fear and the…just the anxiety.

She pulled back, smoothing her hands over his face, peering into his hazel eyes. It freaked her out how much he looked like her brother-in-law, but according to the books, genes were crazy things. She ran her hand over his head, staring at the stark white bandage on his forehead and glancing down at his leg, which was propped on a pillow, with an electric blue cast wrapped around it. Oh honey.

"Are you…" She sniffed, trying not to cry in front of him. The last thing she wanted was for him to get upset, feeling her pain. She wiped at his face, looking down into his eyes. "Are you alright baby?"

"I have a cast!" her son exclaimed, pointing to it. He giggled. "They gave me ice cream for lunch."

"Oh, that's…that's nice," she whispered. It was funny that little kids keyed in on the weirdest things. He didn't care about stitches and a cast, so long as he got ice cream for lunch. She looked over at the aide. Don't get mad. Don't freak out in front of him…she grit her teeth. "What happened?"

The aide stood, nervous. "He just…we turned for a minute and he had climbed up on top of the cabinet and fell. He hit his head pretty hard, so…I'll just…go get a doctor."

I don't need the doctor to tell me what he already told me over the phone, when they called her at the Landing Strip. The words just registered in this absolute pit of her stomach. _"Mrs. Riggins this is Dillon Regional Emergency Room and we have your son here…" _Words she had dreaded hearing when he began to start walking and eventually running.

A concussion, a broken leg, and five stitches in his head. He'd be fine, they wanted to keep him overnight for the concussion, but…he'd be fine. "This kid is made out of rubber," the doctor had joked with her, trying to lighten her mood. He's a damn Riggins is what he is, she thought; they could probably survive a nuclear disaster.

I just want to crawl into bed with him and never leave, she thought, covering his face with her hand again. He felt a little warm. Maybe he had a fever. "Do you feel hot?" she whispered. The doctors probably did everything fine, but she just…she had to mother him right now. It would make her feel better.

"I'm fine. They said I can get my cast signed, can you sign it please?" Stevie turned over another card, grumbling. "Shoot. That's not the right one."

Resilient, wasn't that the word they used for little kids? She didn't really know what it meant, but it's what people said about her kids. My baby; hell, I feel like my leg is broken too. She leaned down and kissed his forehead, squeezing his little hand. "Mommy's here." I'm here, I promise. I'm not leaving.

"I'm fine. Where's Daddy?" Of course. She tried not to let it bother her, but it always did. Nevermind the mommy, you want daddy. Which is impossible at this moment, because Daddy is in College Station at an interview, Daddy is on his way, she thought, glancing at her cell phone. She saw a missed call from…

"Uncle Tim!"

Turning quickly, she saw her brother-in-law standing in the doorway, holding a giant stuffed bear. She rolled her eyes. If you didn't want mommy and can't have daddy, at least this one showed up, she thought, scowling. "Awesome cast little man," he said, greeting Stevie, passing him the bear and knocking his knuckles on his head. "You got a hard head there, heard you knocked it on the ground a couple times."

"Didn't have my helmet," Stevie said, cuddling the giant bear. He looked over the top of its head, giving her a look. His eyes widened, instantly empathetic. "Mommy are you sad?"

Sad? How did he know? It's not like I'm crying, she thought defensively. It was just…suddenly she wanted to sob. Seeing her little boy in a hospital bed with a cast and bandage and…she sniffed. "No, there's just…glitter in my eye. Tim can you just…" She stood quickly from the bed, hurrying from the room and wiping at her eyes, smearing glitter, mascara, and eyeshadow over her hands, but she really didn't care. She just didn't want Stevie to see her get upset.

I should have been there, she thought, peering back into the room. She wiped at her eyes again. I should have been there. He shouldn't have been in daycare or preschool or whatever the hell it was. She shouldn't have been working. I should be at home with him. With all of them. Why wasn't I there?

"Don't beat yourself up Minds."

She drew back, startled at Tim's voice. He was suddenly in front of her, while Stevie messed around with his phone, probably playing a game or something. She wiped at her eyes again. "I'm not beating myself up," she snapped. Maybe I am. She'd never once felt guilty about being a working mother before. Some women had the luxury of staying home, but with three kids, bills, and a falling apart house, she had to work.

He smiled, but it didn't meet his eyes. The smiles never met his eyes anymore. Even years later. "You're a good mom," he whispered, glancing down at her getup, which was peeking from beneath the trenchcoat she'd thrown on from one of the girls' dances. What, she thought, glaring at him. I dare you say something about my job. "And he's gonna' get hurt. You couldn't have stopped it. He's fine and you…you're making money."

I am making money. I am a good mom. And I will do everything I can to make sure they're safe. She released the breath she'd been holding, glancing down at her painted toes sticking out of her silver sandals. They felt cold all of a sudden. She tossed her hair over her shoulder, playing off her little self-pity moment like nothing. "Yeah, well, you know…I just freaked out when they called. I'm fine." I'm totally fine now. He was right.

He lifted an eyebrow. "Sure," he whispered, his hands on his hips. He lifted his head, glancing over her shoulder. "Ah…cavalry's arrived."

She turned her head, seeing her husband stumbling towards them, a cop behind him. "Why is there a cop in this hospital?" she demanded, pointing to him. Furthermore… "What the hell is he doing with with you?"

"Ah…got a speeding ticket…he's a dad, so he took me. It's two-hundred bucks," Billy said, walking by her and into the hospital room, where Stevie let out a yell of happiness at seeing his father. He acted like she was expected to pay it for him.

I need a moment, she thought, taking another step away from the room. She glanced over her shoulder; both Riggins boys were sitting on the bed with Stevie, while a nurse, who had entered through another door into the room, was checking up on his temperature and asking him how he was feeling. My baby, she thought again, taking a deep breath, smiling. She went back into the room, pushing Tim out of the way and sitting across from Stevie. He crawled immediately into her arms, his head pillowed on her shoulder. "Can I go home?" he mumbled into her chest.

"Soon," she promised, even though she had no idea how much longer he had to stay there. Where was a damn doctor? She'd go knock heads outside in a moment; right now she wanted to sit with her baby boy. My oldest boy, she thought, thinking of her two other boys. They were with her mother right now, she had to call and let her mom know what had happened. Probably frantic right now, she thought, smiling slightly, her hand smoothing over Stevie's dishwater blond hair. It was so soft.

I love you, she thought, kissing the top of his head. He closed his eyes, sighing and moving closer against her. She leaned back on the bed, finally looking up and seeing that she was the only one in the room.

Now was the time for mommy. Gone was the fun stuff. Wanting to see Daddy to brag about the cast or Uncle Tim to talk about his stitches. Now he wanted hugs and soothing. Momma and son time, she figured, thanking Billy for having enough sense to at least give her a moment here. Her heart rate was back to normal and she could feel her feet again. "You scared me," she whispered, smiling. "Don't ever scare Mommy like that again."

"Okay." No, she thought, smiling and chuckling; you're going to do nothing but scare me for the rest of my life. I didn't realize it, when I found out I was pregnant. I just thought that I was having a baby to take care of. Hell, I had no idea how terrifying this really was.

She wrapped her arms tighter around her son, smiling and brushing her cheek over his. "I love you, you're the best thing ever to happen to me Steven."

"Stevie," he corrected, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger. "My name is Stevie." Yes, Stevie. She kissed the top of his head, smiling and snuggling with him. Whatever your name, you're mine.


	3. Saint

**A/N:**Thanks for the reviews :) Enjoy.

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**Chapter 3: Saint (Tyra)**

"So this is your office…"

Are you freaking kidding me? She stood in the doorway of the broom closet, because she was absolutely sure when she was here in high school it was a broom closet and not an office, with a desk and a chair crammed into the corner. She pointed to a hole in the wall. "Is that a window?"

Principal Travers glanced at the hole and shrugged, her steel gray bob barely moving on her shoulders. "Possibly."

"How am I supposed to see students in here?" she asked, gesturing to the small space. It was just…it wasn't what she expected. The guidance counselor's office was in the main office, beside the principal's office and the vice principal's office. How could this possibly be? She scowled, her hands on her hips. "Is this a hazing?"

"Excuse me Ms. Collette?"

How am I still Ms. Collette? I'm a graduate of the University of Texas and newly minted counselor for Dillon High School. I just got my certification and everything, Tyra thought, rolling her eyes. She supposed that she'd always be Ms. Collette around here. I can't believe I'm even here, she thought, looking up at the ceiling as Principal Travers led her away from her "office" and to the courtyard, talking to her about what they expected of their new teachers and employees. While Travers lectured, she scanned the students, smiling a little when she got strange looks. She tugged down the bottom of her fitted blazer, knowing she was slightly more dressed up than she was going to be on a daily basis, but it was her first day in a new job. She also didn't really feel like being typecast as the girl who couldn't leave Dillon. Even though it wasn't really a choice. Dillon High was hiring. No one else was. This was only temporary.

She stopped at the edge of the cafeteria, scanning the tables that she was also sure were the same as when she was in school, glancing at one girl who was sitting off to the side of a table, reading a battered paperback. There was something about her, she thought, narrowing her eyes. The boys were gawking at her, because yeah, Tyra could tell that she was extremely attractive. Sort of drawing attention to it, with the low cut top and the short skirt and heels. But alone? Reading? Weird.

"Who is that?" she asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Who is that? The girl at the end of the table?"

Travers glanced her direction, shrugging. "That's River."

River? Interesting name. "What's her story? And her last name?" Tyra couldn't place it. She swore she recognized her. She glanced back at Travers, hearing in the back of her mind that River was actually named Beatrice, but no one called her that. They called her River, ever since kindergarten. It was in her file, so therefore the school accepted it. She broke away from Travers, saying she knew her way back to the main office, she'd see her later.

With the radio in her hand, she approached the end of the table, touching her fingertips to it lightly, where it caught River's attention. The girl lifted her head, scowling. "Do you mind?" she asked. She gestured to the book. "I'm in the middle of something."

Tyra didn't really care. She picked up the cover, her eyebrow arching. _Oliver Twist. _"Good book. You reading it for school?" She'd never read that book. All she knew was that it was about an orphan in England. And the guy that wrote it also wrote the Scrooge book.

"No." River scowled. "Who are you?"

"I'm Tyra Collette, I'm the new guidance counselor, so you can't get away from me that quickly." She glanced at some of the people who were now looking at them. "So what's your story?"

River closed the book, standing up and shoving it into her bag. "No story. The last guidance counselor couldn't crack me." She smirked, tucking a lock of dark brown hair behind her ear, revealing a pink streak. Her emerald eyes flashed. "And I doubt you can do it too."

Challenged accepted, Tyra thought, watching the girl walk away. She smiled slowly. Now I know where I've seen you before. She turned, going to break up a fight. Fun already, she thought. When she got to the main office, she slipped into the records room, opening up a drawer and pulling out River's file. Mary Ann Engle was her real name. Let's see who you are, she thought, flicking up some of the paper and walking back to her closet.

A few days later, she was walking into the Sheriff's department, leaning against the counter. "Is Deputy Clarke in today?" she asked the secretary, smiling quickly. "I'm an old friend of his son." She waited a few minutes and was let back into an office, where Landry's father was waiting, holding a file in his hand. After they hugged, greeted each other, and shared updates on lives; she learned Landry was now in law school in Massachusetts, she reached for the file. "Thanks for getting this for me. I'm just…there's something about her."

"Many have tried to get through to her," Mr. Clarke said, smiling sadly. He shook his head. "She's been in an out. I remember having to go to her house when she was about ten. I remember because it was Landry's birthday. It was pretty sad, her mother was gone, she'd been there for days without anyone taking care of her."

In and out, that's what the file said. There's something about her, she thought again, scanning the police reports. She looked up, shrugging. "Why River?"

He cocked his head. "River. She kept running away as a kid from foster homes. Kept going to the river. It just kind of stuck." He shrugged. "At least, that's the story that her last foster parent told us when we picked her up after running away."

Interesting. Tyra stopped on the last page of the file, her stomach sinking. She cleared her throat, her eyes darting up and her voice cracking. "She was…attacked?"

"This past summer. Never caught the guy, but…she knows who did it." Mr. Clarke shrugged again, quiet. "You would know Tyra. It's hard to talk about and she's from a culture that doesn't talk to the police. Nothing good comes of it in her mind." I've been in my job for five minutes and I'm already getting in over my head, she thought, passing the file back and standing up, saying her goodbyes before leaving. She drove away, intent on going to the house to visit Tim, maybe ask him a couple questions. Said in the file that her stepfather was in and out for drunk and disorderlies. Maybe he'd stopped at the bar or something before. Until she remembered that Casa Riggins was empty, as its master and mistress were in Mexico.

She did a U-turn in the center of the road, driving off towards her house, a small bungalow she was renting nearby. Renting, because she refused to put down roots here. This was temporary, she thought again, parking outside and going in, closing the door behind her. She leaned against it and slid to the floor, closing her eyes. This was so stupid. I don't know why I care so much, she thought, rubbing at her face. She shook her head again, sighing. There were plenty more students. She didn't have to…to put this one first. So I won't, she thought, deciding that if River didn't want her help, she would stop. It was too much anyway. Kid like that. In and out of foster homes, drunk dad, absent mother…attacked. Promiscuous.

But she read, she thought, frowning a little. She was quiet, alone. Her nickname was sad too. River, because she kept running away to them. Tyra sighed, closing her eyes and leaning her head on her shoulder, taking a few minutes to just rest.

Several weeks later, she found herself walking through Dillon Regional, her heels clicking on the linoleum, holding the end of her long black evening gown in her hand, and followed by Mrs. Taylor. She turned a corner, seeing a couple of police officers outside the room. "I'm Tyra Collette," she said. "You called me?"

"She asked to see you," one of the officers said, gesturing to the room. "A Dr. Garrity called, told us to just let you in."

"Thanks," she said. She pushed on the door, stepping into the room, while Mrs. Taylor waited outside. She paused, taking in the sight of River on the bed, her arm in a pink cast and her hair pulled back from her face, revealing a nasty greenish blue bruise forming around her eye. There were scratches on her good arm and her lip was swollen and cut. Damnit, she thought, closing her eyes briefly, letting the door close. "River?"

River opened her eyes, which instantly filled with tears. "I didn't know who else to call," she whispered. She sniffed. "I'm sorry…you look dressed up."

No big deal. Tyra looked at the effects on the counter, walking over and picking up the battered _Oliver Twist_ book. She touched the cover, finally seeing something and turning it toward River. "_Oliver Twist_," she whispered. "I think I finally get this book. You're Oliver?"

"I don't…" She closed her eyes, whispering. "I just like it. I like Dodger." She looked over at her again, her voice cracking as the tears began to fall harder. "I didn't do anything wrong. I don't know why he just started…hitting me." She hiccuped, shaking her head again and whispering. "I look like my mom."

That's why the hair dye, Tyra figured, noting that she'd colored her streak again. It was bright blue today, not pink. She walked around the edge of the bed, stepping closer to the bed. This wasn't part of my job, but I don't mind. I want this. This is why I do this, she thought, glancing to the door. Her inspiration and mentor was standing outside. She walked over to sit on the bed, her hand going to River's. "It's not your fault for anything that's happened." She smiled briefly, whispering. "You're just a kid. The people who were supposed to love, help, and protect you? They're the ones who are at fault."

River smiled sadly. She seemed too accustomed to living like this. Shuttled from place to place. "Where am I going to go?"

She pursed her lips, glancing over her shoulder at the door. She swallowed hard. "You can come to my house." It came out before she realized what she was saying. She was a licensed foster parent. Something she'd decided to get when she got her counseling degree, if she felt like taking that on one day. It was decided, she thought, getting off the bed. She left River with the book, sitting there in shock, and walked out of the room, pulling the door closed just enough so River couldn't hear what was going on in the hallway. "Mrs. Taylor," she said, looking over at Tami, who was seated in a chair across the hall. She swallowed hard. "I'm taking her with me, when they let her go. Can you let the police know? I don't want to go too far."

Tami stared at her for a brief moment, her eyebrows flickering briefly into a slight frown, but her forehead barely creased. She smiled, nodding. "Yeah, of course," she said, reaching her hand to rub at her shoulder. "You sure about this Tyra?"

I'm positive, she thought, nodding quickly. I don't know if it's the best thing in the world, but right now…right now I need to do this. She swallowed hard, breathing quickly for a moment before regulating it a bit more. This kind of made sense. "I think that…" She shrugged. "I think that my mom wasn't gone and I had my sister, but she's…she's me, Mrs. Taylor. She's me and…and if I were her, I would have wanted someone like you to help me out." She swallowed hard. Maybe that was flattering herself a bit, but she just wanted to…well this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to help kids. Just like Mrs. Taylor.

For a second she imagined Mrs. Taylor smacking her out of her psychosis or shaking her senses back to her. Instead, Tami reached around and gave her a hard, fast hug. "Good," she whispered into her ear. She patted her back. "You are a saint, Tyra Collette. That girl needs one right now and you're it."

Saint? I highly doubt that. She let go of Mrs. Taylor, watching her walk down the hall to the police again before she turned back around and went into the room, closing the door again. River was still awake, twirling her finger around on her pink cast. She looked up, her face falling to nervousness again. "You're going to let me stay with you?"

"Yeah," Tyra said. She smiled quickly. "I am your favorite teacher, right?"

River smiled a little. "You're not a teacher, but…yeah." She looked up again. "Where do you even live?"

I'll have to seriously clean out the guest bedroom, she thought; her bungalow was tiny. She walked around to the edge of the bed again, sitting on it and took the book, flicking through it for a moment before setting it on the counter next to the rest of River's things. "We'll see how this goes," she said, instead of anything else. Don't make promises you can't keep, Collette. She frowned slightly, reaching for the blue streak in River's hair. "You know I never dyed my hair outrageous colors, but I have wondered."

"I don't think blue is your color Ms. Collette," River whispered. She frowned. "Where were you tonight? I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…to upset anything."

Tyra glanced at the black evening gown and rolled her eyes, whispering. "Just a party."

"What kind of party?"

She thought on the party, which was a wedding reception, smiling. "A friend got married. They'd already left for their honeymoon. I wanted to leave anyway. Besides." She reached for River's hands, folding hers around them and took a deep breath. Saint? She doubted that very much. I'm just trying to help a kid, the same way that Mrs. Taylor helped me. If I can give back, that's fine. I don't want anything in return. "I'd rather be here."

River smiled again; it seemed to light up her pale face a bit. She winced, touching her lip. "Why are you doing this Ms. Collette?"

Because, she thought, pouring a glass of water for River and making sure there was a straw in it when she brought it back to the bed. She didn't answer her question, helping her sip the water, but she thought about it. Because, she thought again. It's what I want to do. I'm a good person; this is just putting my money where my mouth is. But saint? She felt her stomach warm at that comparison again. If she was saint, then Mrs. Taylor must have been the chief of saints or something. "Drink your water," she said. She cleared her throat, which was suddenly dry, and tossed her hair out of her eyes. "And get some sleep. We can talk later."

Or not again, she thought, leaning back in the chair a few minutes later, watching River sleep. Protecting her, she figured. Saint, she snorted again. St. Tyra. Yeah right.


	4. Sinner

**A/N:**Thanks for the reviews :) Two more chapters left. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 4: Sinner (Lyla)**

What is wrong with me?

Her fingers dug into the back of his neck, curling around his hair, gasping for air as her lips broke from his for a split-second before grabbing hold once more. She felt him spin her around, slamming her into the wall across from the bathroom door.

How gross is this, she felt her conscience telling her. You're in a damn bathroom in a damn bar? You can't freaking wait to get home? I can't, I can't wait until I get home. If I get home I'll think and I can't think about this. Thinking would mean she had tos top and she didn't want to stop.

She fought with her fingers, tugging off the diamond ring and reaching back, trying to put it into her pocket, but it fell from her trembling hands. I don't know where it went, she thought, hearing it clink as it hit the linoleum. Too fast. This was just too fast. "Wait," she gasped, breaking from the kiss, her foot up on the sink while he held her against the wall. Her eyes closed briefly. She lifted her hands to her face, pushing to her hair before she placed them back on his shoulders.

He was impatient, but he said nothing, looking at her with his deep-set eyes, his lips forming a line, waiting. I can't do this again. She looked straight into his eyes. It felt like she could see to his soul. Saw hers staring back. "What are we doing?" she whispered out loud. Was it a question for her or for him?

He blinked, lifting his shoulder. He seemed tired. Tired of this? So was she. Why couldn't they just be adults? Adults got over each other. They didn't…revert back to being high school students. "We're…doing this…"

Doing what? She dropped her eyes to his lips, swollen and bruised from her kissing and biting. All she wanted was him, when she was standing there in the bar…it's my engagement party. Oh my God, I think I'm going to be sick. This isn't me. This isn't who I am. The reflection in the mirror caught her gaze. Was that her? The woman with the crazy hair and the bruised lips and the beardburn on her neck? The woman who had one hand on the wall and the other on his shoulder and who…who wore a cross on her neck as she cheated? All I seem to ever do is sin, she thought. I try to be a good person. A good Christian. And all I ever seem to do is make mistakes. Fail so hard and so miserably. Pray for forgiveness. Start all over again.

His lips brushed over her pulse, which was starting to come down from its rapid pace a moment before. She arched into him, moaning and reached her hand from the wall to the back of his neck, holding him there as he kept her body steady. "Oh God," she moaned, dropping her forehead to his and kissing him again. What is wrong with me, she thought once more, her hands spreading over his chest, and beginning to fumble with the buttons of his shirt. She'd gotten her hands through the folds of the shirt, smoothing over his skin when she realized what she was doing.

No! She sobbed out, pushing him away again and slamming her head back into the wall, crying. I can't do this again. I just can't. "No," she repeated, sliding her feet down to the ground, holding his arms. He steadied her; she felt so dizzy. "I'm engaged," she whispered, lifting her eyes up to his. You can't say you don't know; hell, we're at my engagement party. My ring is on the floor at my feet. My couple grand several carat engagement ring. To go with my beautiful…nice…hell, she readly admitted a WASP of a boyfriend. Fiancé, she corrected. He's my fiancé now. It was just…practical. It made sense. They dated since junior year of college. They were the golden couple. It was like high school; only she got to make her own choices for herself this time.

I love him. This makes no sense. I want you so much, she thought, feeling her heart start to thud again. I didn't realize how much until I got back here. I thought I was done with you for good. I was supposed to be over you forever. I was, I was, I was, she screamed inwardly. She'd avoided him as much as possible, but she'd gone to his house earlier. Talked to him briefly on his porch and they'd almost broken down right there. You'd think after all this time we'd be over each other, but they weren't. If it hadn't been for Tyra stopping by to drop off their nephews for him to babysit, she'd have ended up doing this sooner. "I do stupid things," she breathed, her forehead still touching his. Their fingers entwined between them. Damnit to hell. Her eyes closed tight. When I get overwhelmed I do stupid things. Terrible things. "Why do I do this?"

"Because I let you," he whispered. He kissed her one more time. One desperate, last kiss for forever, she vowed, her hands holding his face for a brief moment when she opened her eyes. He was sorry; she knew it. He looked terrible. He shook his head. "This is cause' of me."

Because of you? I do this all on my own. She quirked her lip up, shaking her head. "No. It's not you. I do it too." We both do it. Dumb, irrational, and impulsive things. She let go of him completely, kneeling to pick up her ring. She turned it around in her fingers for a few minutes, walking to the sink and washing it off from its time on the floor, before she slipped it onto her hand. She leaned on the porcelain, waiting a beat before she lifted her face, staring at her reflection again.

Sinner, she might as well have written on her face. That's what I am. I try so hard. She covered her mouth with her damp hand, wiping and meeting his gaze in the mirror. Without another word, she turned, slipping from the bathroom into the hall and closing the door behind her. And waited for a brief moment. There was a thud; it was someone's hand going into a wall. She turned away, going back into the party, feeling as though she might as well have had a Scarlet A on her chest again.

That's me, Lyla Garrity, the girl who cheats. Not this time though, she thought, closing her eyes briefly, feeling him brush by her, going to the corner where a group of people was calling his name. She met his eyes a moment later, standing with her fiancé, but watching someone else. Why, she wanted to scream. Why do I get like this? It's like I get overwhelmed and I just explode into something inappropriate. It wasn't the first time. Probably wouldn't be the last. He smiled sadly at her, looking away and then walking over to join his friend Becky. She felt her shoulder's kind of deflate a little. "You okay?" her fiancé asked, rubbing her upper arm.

Fake smile, you can do it. You've done it before. "Fine," she lied. It came so easily to her. Lying. You'd think if I was a good person that I wouldn't be able to do it, she thought, continuing to fake her smile and act like nothing was wrong, when inside she was imagining what it would have been like to actually go through with it.

Six months later, she was standing in the back room of the church she'd practically grown up in, standing in shock as her fiancé apologized, saying he couldn't do this. We just don't love each other, he said. He looked at his feet, before looking back at her. "I'm really sorry," he whispered.

She blinked a few times, still trying to process. "I'm wearing my wedding dress," she said, her hands still holding her skirts. She was intent on going out to the hall, to meet her parents, who were going to stand to be around each other for a few minutes to walk her down the aisle, when he'd run in, breathless and saying he had to talk. She cleared her throat, looking back at him. "Why?" she asked. I need an answer other than we just don't love each other, because we do love each other, but…she suspected she knew what he was talking about.

He shook his head again, his hands going into the pockets of his tuxedo. "I think I just…" He sighed, truly apologetic. "Lyla I'm sorry, but…I think there might be someone else."

She narrowed her eyes; we've been dating since junior year of college. How could there be someone else? It had been six years! "Someone else?" she whispered.

"I think you know."

Her palms started sweating into the tulle. Someone else? No, no there's no one…she looked up, her face twisted in pain. Oh my God. She touched her fingers to her forehead, pushing at the diamond headband holding back her braided twist from her face. "I'm sorry," she breathed. She closed her eyes; tears trickled down her face, ruining her makeup, but she supposed it didn't matter. "We didn't do…we just kissed." That night still stuck with her. I'm Lyla Garrity, the sinner. The girl who cheats, just like my daddy before me, she thought. It must be genetic. She swallowed even harder. "I'm sorry, I really am, I should have told you…it was at our engagement party and I just…" she trailed off, seeing his eyes widen in surprise. She waited a beat. "Wait…you're not…"

"I was talking about me!" he laughed, his hands falling to his sides. He pushed them through his hair, sending blond strands everywhere. "Oh my God Lyla, are you telling me that you cheated too?"

"I didn't cheat!" She stared at him, horrified. "What do you mean too? You cheated on me!?"

"No! I just…I just kissed her, she was my first girlfriend at Vanderbilt, we saw each other when we went to visit my mom in Memphis a few months ago and I just…Lyla I'm sorry but we don't feel like that for each other and now I'm more sure than ever," he laughed.

It was laughable, she thought, trying not to smile. This was absurd. "What are we going to do?" she said.

"It's the boyfriend from high school right? I saw how he was looking at you at the engagement party." He chuckled. "The good girl and the bad boy."

"The sorority girl and the fraternity boy," she whispered, echoing another stereotype towards him. It fit them. She smirked, still holding her skirts tight in her fists. That was the funny thing. The funny thing that no one really knew about her. I was a cheerleader, I dated the quarterback, graduated with perfect grades, and yes, I was in a sorority and I went to church and I traveled to help orphans in Africa and volunteered at soup kitchens, but…but that was the funny thing. She also liked fast cars. She cursed. She drank. She slept with guys because she liked sex. She lied when the need suited her and she did it convincingly. She wasn't above putting herself over someone else, more than often, in fact. She wasn't perfect. Nowhere near it. "That's the thing," she said again, and she shook her head, still smirking. Her voice was cool and confident. "I was never the good girl."

"Could have fooled me."

I was always a sinner, she thought, reaching for him and giving him a hug. She passed him the ring and they spoke for a few minutes about how to do this. He was going to tell everyone, since it was his idea first. She was going to sneak out, to avoid the confrontation. She grabbed her bag and would deal with the designer wedding dress later, grabbing the voluminous tulle skirts and hurrying out of the church, ignoring the stares from some of the workers in the front, putting in new flower beds. She waved and ran around the side, her heels clicking on the pavement.

Suddenly she stopped, staring at the black truck parked on the curb, its driver lazily leaning against the back. He glanced her way, his eyes shielded behind sunglasses. He sighed visibly and jerked his thumb to the truck. "Get in the truck Garrity."

"What are you doing here?" she blurted, still not moving. Her heart thudded. This was wrong. I shouldn't be doing this. I just…I don't know what I'm thinking. How did he even know to be outside? What was he planning on doing? She pointed to the truck. "Were you planning on crashing?" She scowled. "Did you…what the hell? Why are you even here?"

He said nothing, just looked her up and down, and ran his tongue over his teeth, before pushing away from the truck and drawling. "Nice dress."

"Thanks." She took a few more steps, still scowling. "Why are you here? How did you know?"

"Your brother called me. Wanted me to crash the thing, but I said no. Was driving by, thought I'd stop. Guess I was here at the perfect time."

She glanced over her shoulder when the church door opened, some people from Wade's family leaving, staring over at her and pointing, beginning to chatter. "Crap. Let's go." She ran to the truck, pushing her bag into the back and made a move to get in, but he stopped her, his hand on her wrist. She blinked at him. "What are you doing? We have to get out of here before the rest of the crowd descends. Wade can only hold them off so long."

"Not before I get an answer to why." Why? Why what? He shrugged. "Why? Why me now?"

Fine. That's a valid question, so I'll tell you why. I was about five seconds away from screwing you in a bathroom at my engagement party. I was about an hour from marrying a man who thinks I'm this perfect person and can't stand to see the flaws. I'm just a mess. And there is only one person in the world. Who wasn't her fiancé. One person who loved the mess. Because my fiancé decided at the last minute that he didn't really want to marry me either.

But that wasn't the issue right now. She leaned in, grabbing his face with her hand, kissing him hard, smiling and lifting her eyebrow at his surprised look. "Because sometimes you just need to find that one person who doesn't care who you are or what you do."

"And that person is me?" he chuckled, opening the door for her. He closed it on her once he got the skirts in, piled around her like a giant pouf. He walked around and climbed into the front, putting the truck into gear and driving off from the curb, grinning sideways at her. "Guess that makes me lucky."

"You see everything." She grinned. Reaching up, she removed the veil, bunching it up and throwing it into the bed of the truck through the open back window. When she turned back around to face him, she leaned in, whispering. "You see me for all I am." She pursed her lips, shrugging her shoulder. He knew the whole giant mess of it. "Sins and all."

He met her gaze and his eyes crinkled in a smile. "Sinner, huh? Thought that was me." Me too, she thought, looking out the window as they drove away, her veil floating out the back window. Just not married, she thought, smiling slightly.


	5. Child

**A/N:**Good catch ICanStopAnytime :) The Lyla chapter was a former one-shot that I'd written ages ago, cleaned up, and twisted a bit for her chapter. There was going to just be a Julie and Tami one, but after writing this one, I figured I'd throw in a Gracie chapter. Since she was a baby in the show, it's kind of fun to imagine her grown-up. Enjoy :)

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**Chapter 5: Child (Julie)**

"You know, Mom is soooo dramatic, I don't understand it, all I did was…"

She interrupted her little sister, shaking her head, already seeing where this was going. "No, Gracie it doesn't matter. You lied about going to a party and by the way, do you realize that you're twelve? What were you doing trying to get to a middle school party?"

Her little sister stared at her for a moment before smiling slowly. "There was a guy there."

"Oh God. You're twelve!" How is this possible that my little sister is already looking at guys? She was ten! When did I start caring about guys, she wondered, frowning and setting a milkshake down on the counter in front of Gracie. She walked around the counter and sat at the stool beside her. Come to think of it, I don't think I was really interested in guys. Then Matt came along. Wasn't really interested in him at first, she thought, tapping her finger to her lips, trying to think about it for a second. Interesting.

Gracie was almost the complete opposite to her anyway, so she kind of wasn't surprised that her little sister was starting to grow interested in boys. Then again, she sometimes didn't really know her sister that well. They were so far apart in age and lived in two different states. "So why am I here?" Gracie asked, climbing off the stool and walking to put her dishes in the sink. She turned around, leaning against the counter, her green eyes staring across the room at her. "You said that you wanted to go over Mom and Dad's anniversary thing."

"And see you," she said, slightly defensive. Doesn't have to be something else to bring you out here to Chicago. She tucked her blonde hair behind her ear; it was so short now that it was constantly in her face unless she pulled it back with bobby pins. Then she looked like an idiot. "So I mean, we can talk about Mom and Dad's anniversary thing. It's their 30th. That's a big deal."

"Well I talked to Rig…"

Julie held up her finger. "Excuse me? Who is Rig?"

"Riggins, I talked to Riggins, I call him Rig, he lets me." Gracie rolled her eyes. "Not really, but I don't care. He said if you want to have it at his house, he's going to start charging facility fees because so many people just have parties there. I thought we could because all their friends are in Dillon."

"Yeah but they don't have a reason to be down there, how will we surprise them?"

"We could make a reason."

What would we do to make a reason to get our parents from Philadelphia to Dillon? It would just be easier to bring the few people they cared about in Dillon up to Philadelphia. She picked up her phone. "I'm calling Tyra."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just need to confirm some things." She put the phone to her ear, waiting as it rang several times, before she got her message. What the heck Tyra? Usually she wasn't without her phone. She disconnected, putting the phone back on the table, but it buzzed before she picked her hand up. She read the text, shrugging. "Tyra says she's with River visiting colleges. She'll call later."

Gracie hopped up onto the counter, holding her phone in her hand. "Rig says he wants two-hundred up front."

"What is he like a drug dealer now? Don't talk to him."

"You're not Mom, you can't tell me what to do."

"Does Dad know about this?" Something told her that her father wouldn't be thrilled to know that a Riggins was friends with his twelve-year old daughter. Gracie shrugged, not answering. So that answered that. She walked away from her sister, who said that she'd get him to knock the price down because he owed her from the Super Bowl. What Julie gathered from the intermittent yells from the kitchen was that apparently she was within two on the point spread, but Riggins was renigging and saying that nope, that wasn't what they bet on. He still owed her a hundred bucks.

I also wonder if our parents know that she's a bit of a gambler, she thought, when Gracie also yelled that Matt owed her fifty too and she planned on collecting. Con artist, she thought, sitting at her computer and turning it on, figuring she'd look at venues in Philadelphia for a party. Just a small party, her dad hated being the center of attention, plus she was sure they were planning their own celebrations, as disgusting as that was to think about.

Gracie wandered into the room a few minutes later, holding her phone up. "We give him fifty and supply the alcohol and he says we can use the house. Did you know that his girlfriend is pregnant?"

"What!?" Julie yelped. Who the hell was he even seeing? Her eyes widened. "It's not Tyra, is it?" She already had her hands full as River's guardian. Oh my God, oh my God, she thought, her hand going for her phone, but stopped when Gracie shook her head, rolled her eyes, and made a face, laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Your face. You really hate him, don't you?"

I don't hate him. I just don't have much of an opinion. She tucked her hair behind her ear again. "Who's he dating?"

"Some chick with a weird name."

"What do you mean weird?"

"I don't know. It's weird, it's like Mr. Buddy's last name, but it's her first name. Are they related or something?"

"Oh geez." She shook her head again, glancing at the clock in the corner of her computer screen. "Crap, we're late. We need to pick up Matt for lunch. We'll talk Mom and Dad's anniversary thing later."

"I don't see what the big deal is. They've been married for forever. Why do we have to have a party?"

But that's kind of the point, she thought. I want to be the good daughter here and actually care about something I used to think was stupid because it was 'just an anniversary', because now that I'm married I realize it's actually really hard. She glanced at the thin wedding band on her left hand. I've only been married for two years and it was really, really hard. She couldn't imagine thirty years. "Because we just do," she said, answering Gracie's question. She picked up her sister's phone from the desk, scowling at the text. "Why is Tim saying you owe him a box of barley?" Did I read that right?

"Inside joke."

"Explain, or I'm telling Dad."

Gracie scowled, pulling her coat on to fight against the Chicago cold. She was here for a week before Christmas and then their parents would fly out the day before Christmas to stay the rest of the week to New Year's. It was going to be a disaster, Julie could already foresee it; the apartment was just too small to accommodate all the personalities. "I couldn't buy him beer, obviously, so I got him a box of barley once. Thought that it was easy to make your own beer. I was ten; I was stupid. Now when I owe him things, it's a box of barley."

Yeah, that is stupid, she thought, grabbing her car keys. "Let's just go. I also need you to tell me everything that is happening with you in school."

"Why? You're just going to tell Mom."

"Code of Sisterhood, I won't tell her anything."

"And yet you blackmail me by telling me that you'll tell them on everything I do that they don't know about." Her little sister skipped down the stairs and out onto the walkway as she locked up, having to sort of think about that for a second. Okay, she wasn't going to tell their parents, but she wanted to know and it was the only way to get Gracie to tell her anyway. She followed after her, bypassing her snowed in car which wouldn't get her very far anyway as she was sure the battery was dead, and walked down the sidewalk to the El station a few blocks from their apartment.

She tucked her hair behind her ear. "So I thought we'd have the party, invite their friends and all, but I'm thinking we should have like a toast or speech or something. Can you get photos of them from when they first got married? Mom keeps them in that chest in the study."

"What are you going to do with them?"

"Maybe put them in a slideshow or something? It's just a thought." It would be nice to show as they gave a speech about their parents. She shrugged again, walking up the stairs to the station and removing her card, swiping it to get through the turnstyle. She passed it over to Gracie, who used it, and they proceeded along towards the waiting platform. She pulled out a notebook. "Let's get started. What do you think we should say?"

"We? That would be you big sister." Gracie pulled out her phone, texting away. A moment later, her earbuds were in and her eyes were closed, tuning out the world. Well this is a great sister bonding vacation, Julie thought, shaking her head slightly and looking down at the blank notebook on her knee. She scribbled her pen across the top, drawing doodles, and thinking of what to say. It was blank. Empty. Crap, she thought, shoving the notebook away and taking her phone out, texting Tyra since her sister was ignoring her existence. She'd think about it later.

A few weeks later, at the 30th anniversary surprise party, which they were holding in Philadelphia, much to Gracie's upset as she wanted to go back to Texas, Julie stood up at the microphone in the ballroom of an old mansion she'd located near their suburb, and smiled wide at her parents, who were sitting in the guest of honor seats right near her. "So Gracie didn't want to talk, which I know comes as a shock to most of you," she laughed, gesturing to her little sister, who had an earbud in and was watching a playoff game on her phone, and then rolled her eyes. "In any case, we agreed I'd be the one to give this little speech. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to say and then it kind of hit me."

She grinned at her parents, her fingers going to twist her wedding set around for a second. "So I didn't realize it growing up, but my parents kind of have the best partnership. They don't even need to talk to know what the other wants or is thinking. I always thought that was kind of annoying and when I got married, well…" She smiled at Matt, who smiled back, his arms crossed and propped on the table. "Well I kind of wanted that too. I didn't realize that it was actually something that's not easy. It's hard work and…and thirty years later my parents are still working at it and they're still talking without talking." She laughed with everyone else, biting at her lower lip for a second. "They're the best parents someone can have and I know that I can make it to thirty years in my marriage because of them. Thanks Mom and Dad and happy thirtieth!"

She lifted her champagne glass, toasting them and then took a long sip, setting it down on the podium and walking over to give them both a hug and kiss. "Lovely, Julie, thank you," her mother said, hugging her tight.

"Thanks Mom." She let go and went over to her husband, giving him a hug and a kiss. A few minutes later, she was seated in the corner, while Gracie hooked up the slideshow computer to her phone so she could show the playoff game in all its glory. Football, she thought, shaking her head. She glanced sideways, seeing her dad approaching her. "Hey," she said. "Thought you'd be with Gracie watching the game."

"I'm losing pretty bad," Eric said, shaking his head as the image popped up on the screen at the front of the ballroom. The score in the corner wasn't pretty. "I was expecting Vince to win this one, but it looks like my other player is going to walk off with a Super Bowl spot."

"You never know." She watched Gracie for a moment, her little sister running around, wearing a frilly party dress with her Converse sneaker and her blonde hair bouncing in a high ponytail tied with a ribbon. It was an odd mix of tomboy and femininity. She quirked her lip up, thinking of something. "Hey Dad…you know Gracie?"

He chuckled beside her, sipping his beer for a moment. "Yeah, I think we've met."

She rolled her eyes; not like that, Dad, but of course you have to make a comment. "Well…I mean…I know you and I were close, but…but did I ever disappoint you that I wasn't in football or sports or something?" I was always kind of like Mom's daughter, she figured. She wasn't much of a Daddy's girl. Did he love her? Protect her? Yes. Did he give her advice and everything? Sure. In the end though, they didn't have much in common. Then Gracie came along. She waited patiently, letting her dad reflect on that.

A few seconds later, he shrugged, shaking his head. "No. You were Julie and…and you were not interested in sports. Was I little disappointed I didn't have a daughter that wanted to learn all there was to know? Not really. We had other things we…talked about and all. But disappointed? Absolutely not." He shrugged, chuckling. "Gracie might be all into that but the way she expresses it isn't always the greatest. I have got to stop her gambling habit, for instance."

She smirked, shaking her head and watching her little sister. "Guess she's your favorite." It came out a little more sarcastic than she intended, but that had been one of her problems. Tone. Sometimes she sounded meaner and more annoyed than she really was at something. She cringed, knowing he'd get upset, which he certainly was.

"Hey now." His voice hardened and he set his beer bottle down on the table behind her. He shook his head and placed his hands on his hips, giving her a 'coach' look. "I don't have favorites Julie. You were my only child for sixteen years. I loved you more than anything and I'm very proud of you, just like I am proud of my other daughter, who yes, might be a little bit more involved in sports and everything, but you're different. It's actually…" He chuckled again. "It's kind of good how different you are. Makes this second time going through everything again all the better. Your mom and I are still learning how to be parents, even after all this time and that's because you guys are so different."

I guess that makes sense, she thought, stiffening a little when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She shrugged again, her voice soft, almost a mumble as she looked down at her drink in her hands. "Just sometimes…I don't know. Maybe I still get a little jealous of Gracie," she whispered. It was kind of stupid. Gracie was twelve. I'm married, I'm sixteen-years older than her, and yet I still feel a bit jealous. She shook her head slightly, as though to knock her thoughts out of her mind. "It's dumb. I'll get over it, but…you know it just feels a little strange sometimes that she…well that you guys do a lot more, but it makes sense, I mean…" She chuckled again, whispering. "I don't really like football, even to this day."

He smiled, his arm tightening around her shoulders and giving her another hug. "I know Julie. I still love you."

"Good," she said. She looked up at him. "So how much did you bet with her?"

"I bet her a later curfew. I think I'm going to have take the father card on this one because I didn't think I'd lose." He grinned. "At least I'm not Riggins."

"Oh no, what'd he bet?"

"I'm not sure, but it seems a lot, since she's all giddy about it. I do know that I'll have to send him a thank you card when she goes to college, since most of her savings account is courtesy of him." He sighed hard. "And before you make a comment Julie, I try to make her stop. I don't encourage it. She's just…" he shrugged again. "Convincing. Don't tell your mother though, she doesn't know about any of it."

Julie smiled, giving him another hug. "Love you Dad."

"Love you too Julie." He smiled, whispering into her ear. "My favorite firstborn daughter."

I see what you did there, she thought, chuckling. "And let me guess? Gracie is your favorite second-born daughter?"

"Well you know it."

She pulled away, kissed his cheek, and stepped aside, remaining at the back of the room as he went to join her mother. Matt came over a second later, putting his phone away. "I lost," he announced. He seemed sheepish. "Didn't bet much. Just a painting for her room." He shook his head. "And I would have just given it to her, but I think she likes winning."

Yes, she's very competitive. She leaned against him, watching her parents laugh at something someone, one of their friends from college she thought, said. She smiled again. "You think I'm the good daughter?" she asked.

"The good daughter? I don't think there's a difference between you and Gracie, you're both good." He shrugged slightly. "Either way your parents love you, right? No matter what?" Yeah, she thought, nodding. Yeah. She was really lucky to have parents like that. She cleared her throat, threading her fingers in his and squeezing tight. They were the best parents a kid could ask for. When it's my time, she thought, smiling briefly, I'll try to be just like them.


	6. Perfect

**A/N:**This was supposed to be the final chapter, but I wrote a bonus chapter from Gracie's POV. That's why there's a sense of finality to this one, but there's still one left. Thanks for the reviews and enjoy! :)

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**Chapter 6: Perfect (Tami) **

"I can't believe we're doing this, this is stupid."

"Well sweetheart, some people in this town think you're important." She capped her mascara, dropping it into her makeup bag in the guest bathroom at Tyra's house, where they were staying for the next few days. She reached into it and removed her lip-gloss, running the stick over her lower lip, still speaking, and her voice muffled. "And it's a big deal, they're going to name the gym after you."

"The gym? Could have named the stadium after me and I wouldn't care. It's a gymnasium, how is it supposed to be named after someone? What…what are the kids going to say?" He paced around the room, tying his tie. "Hey, hey you kid, let's go, let's go meet up at the Taylor Gym! No one is going to say that, it's just a sign and it's not even a very big sign, they could have at least given me a big sign."

You keep talking babe, she thought, saying nothing. He was nervous. He hadn't been back here for something like this in years. They'd returned to visit with Mrs. Saracen, until she passed, of course. They'd come to see Tyra and for various weddings here and there of old friends. This though? Nothing with the school, even though she knew he'd gotten phone calls from Buddy about it all.

We've been in Philadelphia for ten years, she thought. That isn't long enough. I'm just starting to promote at Braymore. The Pioneers had won the District 5 state of Pennsylvania championship. Gracie was still in school too. Plus, we're closer to Chicago. Not by much, but still along the same latitudinal line, she figured. That counted for something.

She frowned slightly, dropping her lip-gloss into the bag and zipping it, setting it aside on the other side of the sink. She took a deep breath, releasing it through her glossy lips. "Oh good Lord, look at me," she murmured, touching at the lines creeping from her eyes. The hair she still hadn't had to dye yet was starting to look a tad dull. Ugh.

"Yes, look at you." Eric approached her from behind, his arms sliding around hers, smiling and dropping his chin to her shoulder. He kissed at her neck. "I think you look hot. Dean Taylor."

He just liked to say that for some reason. "Why thank you sweetheart, I just slaved away for the last two hours on this." She touched at her eyes again, before squeezing his hands, turning around in his arms and smiling. She wouldn't kiss him just yet, since her gloss still had to set. The last thing she wanted was for him to go up on stage with glossy lips too. "So are you excited to see the Riggins twins?"

"Which ones? That family is breeding like bunnies. There were once two that the town had to worry about and now there's like eight."

"Honey, Billy only has the one set of twins and Tim's got two sets, it's not like there's eight." So there were seven.

"The twin thing is weird. They have a lot of twins there. Something in the water."

Yeah, that was a little weird; she had to think. She shrugged. "Well…technically it isn't even the guy that decides if its twins, just the gender. Maybe it's just in the Collette and Garrity families or something."

"Yeah, but they have kids quick there. I thought we were just here for someone's birth."

That would be the second Riggins twins, she thought, trying to remember herself. It probably seemed like a short time because our kids are sixteen years apart. Gracie and Julie were fairly close, she supposed, but they tended to act more like cousins than sisters. Gracie was practically growing up as an only child. It seemed like Lyla had just had the first set before she was pregnant with another. Not that you could notice it, when you looked at her. "Well you know, it's just a twin thing. Besides, only one set is identical."

"The terrible set." Well you couldn't really say that yet, only one set was reaching two, the other were still infants. Come to think of it, she thought, frowning slightly. We were just here. Gosh, where is my mind going?

Her thoughts were interrupted by her youngest daughter. "Hey Mom, Dad, I don't want to know what you're doing in there, but I want you to know that we're leaving now, Julie wants to get a good seat since she's you know, got that back thing and the big feet and all." Gracie knocked on the door again, calling out once more. "So…see ya!"

She turned around, scowling at Eric. "The back thing? Big feet? We should tell her that her sister is pregnant." All four months of her. If Julie thought it was bad now, she thought, shaking her head and chuckling. She would be in for a world of hurt come the 39th week. She reached over for her purse, checking its contents. Everything was there, good. "Let's go."

"Why's Gracie not going with us?"

"I don't know, let her hang out with her sister. They rarely see each other."

"I'm not complaining, just wondering." She walked ahead of him, going down the stairs of Tyra's small house, which she'd long thought her former student would have moved on from, but she'd stuck around Dillon the last few years, after coming back once she received her Master's. It was full to the brim with Taylors and somehow Tyra and River put up with it. She would have to get them a gift of some sort to thank them for their hospitality. "Hey Tyra," she said, greeting Tyra, who was putting some dishes in the washer. "Oh I could have gotten to that!"

"In my house?" her former student chuckled, shaking her head. "No, I got it. River should be doing it, but you know, she says she's on a break from school so whatever."

Tami smiled again, wider at the thought of young River, who was in her second year of college at Texas Tech, majoring in English. She was a very bright young girl who was lucky that Tyra happened to take a job with Dillon High at the exact moment River needed someone. Most twenty-five year olds, as Tyra was at the time, wouldn't take on a sixteen-year old ward. Let alone ensure that she finished school and went on to a four-year college. River had become somewhat of a daughter/sister for Tyra, who still let her live at the house when she was home for breaks. It was very nice to see, in Tami's opinion.

She glanced over her shoulder, at Eric, who was tapping his watch. "Alright, I'm coming. Are you going to be along shortly Tyra?"

"Yeah, I have to pick up the twins."

"Which ones?"

Tyra chuckled, closing the dishwasher. "That would be the girls. He's going to be at the gym, but I think he's introducing you Coach Taylor."

"What?" Eric demanded, whipping his head up from the new app he'd gotten on his phone that designed plays. He shoved it into his pocket, walking towards them both, but Tami held her hand out, stopping him. "He is not introducing me. I don't need an introduction, they all know me."

"I think it was Buddy Garrity's idea."

He turned, glaring at her. "See what you did when you answered the phone? You should have never answered he phone. Nothing good comes when you answer the phone and it's Buddy Garrity."

"It said Texas, for all I know it was Tyra needing me." She pointed towards him, chuckling. "And if I recall, that was actually you answering the phone, babe. Not me that time. The last time I answered the phone was when we came down here to be godparents to two sets of Riggins twins."

"I don't remember that."

Your memory grows more selective, she thought, arching an eyebrow. She smiled warmly at Tyra, patting her arm and walking by her. "We'll see you at the gym sweetheart." She would just go along with this, chuckling at Tyra's sympathetic smile. They left the house, walking to the rental car, and climbed in. She looked out the window as he climbed after her, saying how hot it was to be wearing a suit. Well, it's not that hot, she thought, lowering the window and watching everything pass by. It was actually quite pleasant. The perfect mid-August morning. She finally turned her head towards him, smiling wide. "I love you."

"I love you," he replied automatically, smiling in return. He glanced in the backseat, wiggling his eyebrows. "I can't get over how nice it is to be driving without a kid screaming back there."

"Gracie is thirteen."

"Yes, she's thirteen and she puts those things in her ears and pretends we don't exist." Earbuds, Eric, they're earbuds, she thought, her hand comfortingly on his shoulder as they drove away from Tyra's towards town. They were taking the long way, she noted. He didn't want to do this. It made him uncomfortable. We'll take our time, you are the man of the hour, so they'll wait on you, she thought. She frowned slightly, seeing a familiar house set from the road. "Pull in, let's stop and see them before we get to the gym." Maybe it would calm him a bit.

"Nope," Eric announced, driving right by the iron gates with an "R" in the center of them. He glanced in the rearview mirror. There were some cows grazing in the pasture beside the house. "You know," he drawled, shaking his head and peering sideways at her through his sunglasses. "He's gotten even more eccentric since the last time we were here."

Oh I doubt that. Besides, eccentricity was in the eye of the beholder. "He's just…settling into his life. He's happy." In fact, she thought, looking out the window at the rolling hills. All her family was happy. She was glad for that. It made her feel like she'd accomplished something. And hell, she sighed, shaking her head slightly at her thought. Even he'd somehow become part of the unofficial family. Reluctantly. On both sides.

That kind of was how it happened, she supposed. She continued to look out the window as everything passed, finally tearing her eyes away when they pulled into the parking lot by the school. She dropped her sunglasses down off her nose, staring. "Oh my," she drawled.

"This is insane."

The entire town had to be here, she thought, climbing out of the car. She walked around it, walking with him through the cars and to the lot in front of the gym, which had a big ribbon across the double doors. She chuckled, shaking her head at the sign and pointed. "See? It's a bigger sign than the mock-up that Buddy showed us the other day."

"Not big enough for this circus." He was still in disbelief, walking around towards where Buddy had instructed they go when they arrived, to the fieldhouse. She reached around for his arm, squeezing it gently. You'll be fine, you're always fine when we have to do these things. Although she was surprised. Ten years later and the crowd was still this big? She wasn't expecting half the town. You'd think it was an actual football game.

He shifted nervously again, shaking his head at Buddy. "I flew out here for a ceremony thing Buddy, but this is ridiculous!"

"I didn't know it'd be this many people, we put it out like we usually do and that was it!" Buddy said, immediately defensive. He'd gotten used to it over the years, she was sure that he had stock answers. He grinned, slapping Eric's back. "You're the best coach we've had."

She pursed her lips; yet you forced him out and fell for that Joe McCoy all those years ago, she thought, arching an eyebrow over her glasses. She knew Eric wouldn't say anything about it and it wasn't polite for her to say anything either, but that didn't stop the one in the group that had a limited filter. "You didn't really act like it sometimes Mr. Garrity."

Buddy scowled, turning his head and pointing towards Riggins. "Do not start with me." The other guy shrugged, looking down at the ground where he had a two-year old waddling towards him, bow-legged and with her arms held up, her little denim dress already streaked with dirt. Her identical twin, wearing the same outfit but with pink Converse instead of purple ones, was running over to join.

Tami's eyes widened, just in time for Gracie to walk over to join them. "Here you go," she said, pulling a box of barley from her bag, handing it to Tim. "From the Super Bowl."

"One of these days you are going to explain that," Eric said. It's an inside joke, honey, she thought, shaking her head. As much as she wanted to know why Gracie occasionally bought a box of barley for Tim, she knew she'd never know. She looked down at the twin girls, who were chattering in a made-up language to each other, catching Gracie's attention too.

"Aw, babies," she cooed, kneeling to reach for the identical little girls.

Her eyes widened even more, but Eric was already on it. "I don't ever want to hear that word come out of your mouth like that again young lady."

"A bit strong on the warning honey, but she gets the point," she said, smiling a little as Gracie tore herself away from the little girl, who was fascinated by Gracie's sparkling necklace. They went over to the front, where Eric was instantly waylaid. She smiled, taking a seat beside Becky Sproles, who was twisting a wedding ring on her finger, beside Tyra. It seemed everyone was here, she thought. Let's get this started.

Several minutes later, she was already fanning herself since it was so dang hot. Why did this need to be done in August, she wondered? Just before the start of school, she supposed. She glanced around Gracie, who was texting on her phone thing. "Stop that," she said, reaching around to poke Tyra. "Where's the twins?"

"Say their names three times fast," Becky mumbled.

Tyra shrugged, while Tami thought briefly on that. She frowned, her voice quiet, muttering to herself. "Regan, Riley, Rowan, and Ryan." She repeated it, slipping a little on the names. Damn. She was right. Got tricky there for a moment. She shook her head slightly, looking around and taking in everyone. There were people she recognized. She waved, saying hello to a few.

Finally, she thought, looking up when Buddy tapped on the microphone, announcing that everyone take their seats, because it was time for the main event. "The dedication of the Dillon High School's newly refurnished and remodeled gym, which today we are christening the Eric Taylor Gymnasium! After our fearless coach for two seasons, who led us to two state championships. Only one win, but not for a lack of hard work and trying, right Coach?"

If looks could kill, Tami chuckled. She figured Buddy would be six feet under, given the twin looks of annoyance that Eric and Tim were firing in his direction. "Well anyway," Buddy said, drawling. "The gym, courtesy of Riggins Construction…" Tim shot him another look. "Okay, okay, so without further ado, I want to introduce my favorite son-in-law who doesn't want to be up here, but he'll do it because I ask. Tim Riggins!"

The crowd cheered, but Tami remained quietly, silently approving when she saw Tim walk over, looking incredibly professional. He'd really changed in the last few years, she thought. Becky echoed that sentiment beside her. Seemed like the last two years at least had been good to him. Got a job, got married, and had a passel of kids. She leaned back in the seat, watching, and listening as Tim spoke soft into the microphone, giving a brief little introduction to Eric. "Coach you want to say something?" he asked, once he'd finished, less than five minutes later.

"I suppose I will," Eric said, smiling and walking up to the podium. He smiled a little wider, his hands on the sides. He cleared his throat. "Well I do have to say that it is good to be back in Texas." He waited for the cheers and chuckles to subside, speaking again. "And I wanted to thank you for the honor of naming this new gymnasium after myself. Makes me wonder what a guy has to do to get the football stadium named after him." Again, more chuckles, but Tami distinctly heard Tim say 'come back' from behind him. She didn't doubt that, but her smile fell slightly.

Come back, yeah, she thought, looking down at her hand. They still had a lot of time left. A lot of time. She took a deep breath, slowly letting it out. "You okay Mom?" Gracie asked.

"Fine, sweetheart."

"Dad thinks he's so funny."

"Well we let him think he's funny."

Eric spoke for a few more minutes, talking briefly about his time at Dillon, the great memories, and he was glad they wanted him to be part of the high school that had been a part of him for so long and in some ways it still was. Yes, she thought, looking down the row of people. Tyra was still in their life. Matt was their son-in-law…even Buddy Garrity had somehow weaseled his way into their family, even if she kept trying to keep that distance as far as could be possible.

I am proud of it, she thought, lifting her shoulders a little, her lips quirking up. She pushed her sunglasses to her forehead, her hair flowing back over her face and shoulders. She wanted to be able to see Eric a little better. She smiled in support, when he glanced down at her and she lifted her fingers, waving quickly. I'm right here babe. Once you're done we can see everyone, smile, laugh, and put on the faces and then we can go do whatever you want, she thought, lifting her eyebrow, still smiling.

He trailed off, saying something about how surreal it was to be back here with his former players, all of them grown up and some in better places than others, but he was still proud. "Well," he said, reaching to rub the back of his head. He sighed, smiling and gesturing towards her. Me, she wondered. What are you going to say about me? "As you all know, when West and East Dillon merged again, you offered me the head coaching position and I declined, because it was my turn to take the backseat. My career as a coach has given me many things, many opportunities and I am glad for them, but…but none of it could have been possible without…well without my wife. Tami Taylor."

"What is he doing?" Julie muttered.

Yes, she thought, lifting her eyebrows. What are you doing? Eric continued. "She's the best wife, mother, and partner anyone could have asked for and I know that this gym shouldn't just be the Eric Taylor gym, but the Taylor gym, because while I was coach, I was also the counselor's husband and the principal's husband." He chuckled. "Took me some time to come to terms with that, but I was. This place wouldn't have been what it was without her, because I wouldn't have been the best coach. Thank you for the honor and go Panthers."

Wow, she thought, smiling, her mouth still closed. Wow. She slowly clapped her hands, as everyone stood and cheered when Eric cut the ribbon on the doors to the gym. She shook her head and looked down at her feet. It was almost enough to make her cry. Well crap, maybe it is, she thought, rubbing her thumb briefly beneath her eyelid so she didn't smudge her makeup.

Gracie grinned beside her. "Aw, Dad loooves you."

"Gracie Taylor," she snapped, but she wasn't sure why. She wrapped her arms quickly around her, squeezing hard. "Go play with the babies."

"But you said…"

"Just go play with them." She stepped away, holding up her finger when Julie made a move towards her. She walked up to the podium, interrupting him and Riggins. "Tim, go find your family."

"But…"

She glared at him and he swallowed hard, muttered a 'yes ma'am' and was running off. "You, with me," she said, taking Eric's hand and stepping off the back end of the raised platform, walking around the gym to where there weren't any bystanders. She turned and pulled his face to hers, kissing him hard. She grinned. "Thank you."

"Well now I know to tell everyone how amazing you are all the time."

She wrapped her arms around him, smiling. "What you said was very…" She paused. "Welcome. Thank you sweetheart. I love you too." She kissed him again, before wrapping her arms tighter around his neck, smiling into his shoulder. How many years has it been so far, she wondered, her eyes closing. Felt like just yesterday they were two young idiots getting married. Living in a tiny little apartment while he took coaching jobs and she finished her degree, with no idea what she wanted in a job.

Now I'm a dean, he's a coach, and neither of us would be that without the other, she figured. She pulled back, kissed him once more, and then turned around when she heard people coming up behind them. Gracie and Julie were standing around the corner of the gym, smiling. "Whatcha' been doing?" Gracie teased.

"Get a room," Julie advised. She fanned herself. "It is so hot Mom, I can't stand this anymore, we're going to Tim's house. There's like a party thing going on."

"Did he finally get air conditioning?"

"Only because Lyla was pregnant in the summer with twins, but yes."

Tami chuckled, letting go of Eric to take her daughter by the shoulders, walking with her back to the car. "Honey, I know this is your first, but this is just the beginning. You have five more months to go. Did you talk with Lyla and Mindy?" Since I'm your mother and most of the time you ignore my advice on principle before accepting it and following it, maybe you'll take advice from the others around here you might actually listen to.

Julie shuddered. "They told me horror stories."

Of course they did. I'll have to have a talk with them. The stepsisters had become as thick as thieves in the last couple years, despite their incredibly large differences personality-wise and in general, life-wise. "Well I'm sure it wasn't all bad."

"Lyla gave birth to two six pound babies! Naturally!" She shuddered again. "Mom I just don't think that I can do that." Her arms instinctively went around the small swell of her stomach.

Gracie rolled her eyes. "Newsflash Julie but you have one kid in there."

"Gracie shut up."

"Mom!"

Both of you stop it, she thought, rolling her eyes and not even dignifying the fight between a thirteen-year old and a twenty-nine year old. Eric shook his head. "Knock it off, both of you. Where's Matt?"

"Went with Tim. I thought I'd ride with you guys."

"And Matt didn't want to join? What kind of a son-in-law is that?"

Oh can it. She gave both of them a look and they stopped, closing their mouths and keeping to themselves. Good, Tami figured, climbing into the car. She sighed, looking back at the school. "What a nice little ceremony," she said. "So we're going to Tim's now?"

"I guess so," Eric said.

"Well that's going to be fun." She wasn't being sarcastic, she genuinely thought it would be nice. They drove away from the school, headed back the way they came, and then finally pulled through the gates and parked behind a series of other vehicles, mostly trucks. There was a minivan, which she thought might have been Mindy's, and then a shiny silver Audi SUV, which she knew was Lyla's. They got out and Julie ran inside, claiming she had to go to the bathroom again. Gracie made a comment about how even more annoying her older sister was now that she was pregnant. Eric made a comment about how Gracie was getting even more annoying now that her older sister was more annoying.

She went inside, quickly getting back into conversations that had been paused from their last visit. Talking business school programs with Mindy, who was thinking of going to get an Associate's degree. Talking about Becky's upcoming vow renewal, once Luke returned from overseas. Then there was Tyra, who couldn't stop talking about River's progress at Texas Tech and how she wanted to get a Ph.D. in education, but not yet. Tami finally broke away, going to sit with Lyla out on the porch.

"Come here precious," she cooed, picking up one of the newer twins. She thought maybe they were about ten months old. "Oh my goodness Lyla, they're getting big."

"Yeah, they're massive," Lyla said, wiping off sticky hands with a wet-wipe. She tossed her hair over her shoulder, smiling. "Sorry about Daddy. He really wanted to name the stadium, but the board wouldn't allow it. So they settled on the gym."

"Well either way it's a nice honor."

Lyla smiled again. "Coach said some nice things up there. Must be nice." She sighed, looking out at her husband, shaking her head. "Tim barely remembers my birthday most of the time."

"Oh he remembers the important things, trust me, they all do," she joked. She wasn't quite sure, to this day, what got Lyla Garrity to stay in Dillon after leaving for college, with every intent not to come back, but whatever it was, she thought it was worth it. She smiled. "Whatever made you stay, I'm glad it did Lyla. You seem quite happy and I know you're successful. Buddy mentioned to me that you're now Chief Resident."

Lyla smiled. "Yeah. Dillon Regional isn't New York Presbyterian, but it's a good hospital. At least for West Texas."

"Made even better because you're there. Rural areas need good doctors and good teachers," she said; it was similar to what she'd told Tyra, when she'd made noise the year before about moving to a larger school in a bigger city. Tami stood up, giving the baby back to her mother. "I'm going to check on Coach. Make sure he's not getting into trouble with Tim."

"Good luck with that, tell him he needs to change two diapers today, he'll know what it means."

Ah, the whole parental bargaining thing, Tami thought, nodding in silent understanding. She went across the yard to Eric, touching his elbow lightly and leaning forward to speak to Tim. "Lyla says you need to change two diapers today. Best get on it, she's got two babies up there that might fill your quota."

"What'd you do?" Eric asked.

Tim rolled his eyes. "Didn't change any yesterday. Here, take this one. Rowan, let go of me." He pried one of the twins from around his leg and plunked her in Eric's arms, while Tami got saddled with who she imagined was Riley. She peered at the little girl, who was a carbon copy of Tim. Hello there, she thought, smiling at the two-year old, who was showing her the hem of her denim dress, which had flowers embroidered along it.

"Very beautiful," she commented. Angela walked by at that moment, taking both of them over to join Mindy and the other kids. Good, because I want a moment to just breathe here. Tami tossed her hair from her face, stepping towards Eric, her hands taking his into her hands. "We've been here for about an hour already, I've talked to everyone once, and I feel exhausted."

Eric smiled, his voice soft a moment later. "You know I meant what I said. None of it without you Tami."

"I know," she said. She sighed, feeling him wrap his arms around her, hugging tight. She sighed again, one more time, her eyes closing and savoring him. "I know." None of it without you either, but then again, he already knew that too.


	7. Innocent

**A/N:**Bonus Gracie chapter! Enjoy :) Thanks for the reviews as well. I might be cleaning up a one-shot I have in my archives and reposting it soon, but until the next multichapter, enjoy this last one :)

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**Chapter 7: Innocent**

Stupid, she thought, sitting slumped in her seat. That was a dumb thing you did. Really, really dumb. She rubbed at her forehead; ouch, now I have a headache. Ugh. Mortifying, really. I'm really just a stupid teenager, she thought. She stood up slowly, walking to the door and slipping out onto the porch, hopping off and going to the pond, where there was a dock.

There was nowhere to sit on the dock, but someone had lit tiki torches, so it wasn't pitch black. She went to the end and slung her feet over the side, letting them dangle. The dock was kind of low, so the tops of her shoes skimmed the top of the water. Stupid, she thought again. She glanced back at the house. I'm going to get in so much trouble.

It was a dumb teenager thing. She'd been standing in the kitchen and she'd just…said it. "I love you," she'd blurted out. I'm fifteen. He'd stared at her, surprised and then frowned a little. He had no idea how to respond. Instant mortification ensued and she'd rocketed from the kitchen, avoiding him for the rest of the evening. No one knew. She'd wanted to leave, but she knew it would be too obvious, so she spent the rest of the night hiding in the corner or leaving any room that he walked into.

She heard footsteps behind her, creaking on the dock. "Go away," she ordered. I don't care who it is. Or what you want. She looked up when someone began to sit beside her. "I said go away."

"What's your problem?"

"What's yours?" she retorted, watching as Steven Riggins sat down beside her. He was stupid. He was two years younger than her and he thought they were friends. She scowled. "Go away." She held out her hand, smirking. "Unless you have my money." Stevie rolled his eyes, shaking his head and looped his arms around his knees, which he'd drawn to his chest. His arm was in a splint. Again. "Are you so dumb you can't walk without falling down?" she asked. She felt really mean for some reason right now. Her cheeks still burned with embarrassment from what she'd done earlier. "Sorry. How'd you break your arm again?"

"You know you're really mean," Stevie said, rather matter-of-fact. He didn't seem hurt from her nasty words, but she didn't know him that well. They just saw each other when she came back to Dillon sometimes. He shrugged, when she frowned a little, her forehead flickering with slight hurt. "Just saying. I come over here and you're mean. If you want to know, I fractured my wrist helping my dad put up the shed in our backyard. Lost the hold and the boards fell on it."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. Ouch." He picked up a stick from beside him, reaching over and dragging it through the water. For a moment, Gracie was mesmerized by the ripples in the water, losing her thoughts until Steve spoke again. "So what happened inside? You've been hiding all night long."

She closed her eyes tight. Ugh. I don't even want to talk about it. She sniffed; now she was crying, great. How even more embarrassing. "It's nothing," she mumbled. She shook her head again, her blonde hair falling out of its ponytail. It was actually starting to turn red, kind of like her mom's. She scuffed her foot on the top of the water again. Her sparkling ballet flat was going to fall off if she wasn't careful. "I just…" She didn't want to talk about it, but it kind of started to slip out. "Did something stupid."

Steve was thirteen years old and here I am talking to him, she thought, shaking her head and scowling. "What'd you do?" he asked. Of course he was going to ask that. Geez.

What did I do? "Something stupid."

"We all do stupid things."

"Not me." I don't do dumb things. I'm smart, both my parents say so all the time. I can beat anyone at poker, I am probably the only fifteen-year old girl in my school that knows every rule of football and every play, and I have straight As. I also don't care about boys. Not really. Well, sort of. She liked talking shop with them. Football, games, and gambling, she guessed she'd call it. She was fifteen. She kissed her first boy three years ago at a boy-girl party. His name was Trevor. Trevor was still her friend to this day but they never 'went out.'

Then I did…that dumb thing. "Told someone I was in love with them," she said, blurting it out.

"Who?"

"No one," she said, defensive again.

Steve waited a moment and then smiled quickly. "You told my Uncle Tim, didn't you?"

"No!" Yes. Yes, I told him. Ugh. "He's just my friend."

"And you told him you loved him. All the girls do, it's okay."

"No, it is not okay! It was horrible!"

"He's used to it."

No, he is not used to it, and I'm not…I'm Gracie Taylor, I don't do stupid things like that. Ugh. It just fell out of her mouth. She'd known him for most of her life; he'd always kind of been that mysterious friend of her dad's. Not of Julie's. Matt knew him, but they weren't like best friends and talked all the time or something. They always saw him when they visited Dillon and she'd kind of grown up from there with him in her life.

She shook her head quickly, her ponytail whipping at her cheeks. "No, it's not that. He's my…." She blew out a hard breath, tightening her grip around her knees. "Look we're friends or something I guess, I don't know. Can you be friends with adults?"

"I don't know."

Ugh. I hate this so much. "Look we bet on games and stuff, he's married and he's got kids and…" And I'm fifteen and an idiot. "I don't even know why I said it," she mumbled, closing her eyes tight. I'm not one of those stupid little girls that thinks adult guys are into them. There were some girls at school who always thought that; they thought they could get older guys to like them and think they were adults, but she wasn't one of those. Now I've ruined it, because of a dumb crush. "This is why boys are stupid," she said. They make you do dumb things.

Steve grinned. "And why girls are stupid too."

"Shut up."

"You shut up."

"Gracie!"

She turned her head, seeing her mother standing off from the dock. "Hey Mom," she called, lifting her hand in a wave. Great. Now her mother was searching for her.

Tami waved back. "Steve, your mother is looking for you, why don't you go on back to the house? I have to talk to Gracie." She walked over, gesturing for him to get on, which he did, crawling up to his feet and giving her one last sympathetic look before running off to the house. Tami waited a moment and then sat down beside her. "Well," she said, crossing her legs beneath her. "This isn't really your scene, running off from a party. What's going on Gracie Belle?"

No one calls me that anymore but you. It's just Gracie now. She pursed her lips, looking out at the pond and shook her head. "Nothing, just…didn't want to be there."

"Well that's rude. Tim and Lyla invited us for the twins' birthday. We flew all the way down here." She shrugged. "The least you can do is come back to the party whether you want to be there or not. Do you think I wanted to go to lunch today with Buddy Garrity and Angela Collette? You know I don't like it, but I go and I do it and it's because we're guests here." She waited a moment, her voice soft. "Honey what happened? Something happened because you were not like this earlier today."

Gracie shook her head, whispering. "Nothing happened, I just…" She trailed off, not even finishing. How am I supposed to go back inside? I just want to go to the car and drive away. I've also ruined everything. Now I can't get any money or bet on football games again. She didn't say anything. I ruined it.

They sat together for a few more minutes, until Tami cleared her throat loudly. "Gracie Belle I know something happened. I'm your mother. I know everything." Yes, you do, she thought, her eyes darting to meet Tami's before returning to gaze at the dark water. Tami sighed. "Are you going to tell me or are we going to sit here for the rest of the evening?"

We'll just sit here for the rest of the evening. Gracie took a deep breath, staring out at the blankness. They continued to be quiet, until another voice broke the silence between them. "Is everything okay out here?"

She cringed, turning her head and seeing Tim standing at the end of the dock, his hands in his pockets. He gestured towards the house. "Saw you guys…figured I'd make sure everything's okay." He waited a second, glancing at her. "Because it's fine back there. It's fine. Ryan is shoving cake in his face and you're missing it. Pretty funny, actually."

"Thanks Tim, we'll be up in a moment." Gracie watched him nod and walk away, disappearing up the sloping hill to the house. Tami glanced at her and then shook her head, sighing hard. Damnit, Gracie thought. She figured it out. You couldn't keep anything from her mother. "What happened between you guys?"

"What? Nothing."

"He comes over here and gives an entirely double-meaning laden statement about things being fine and by the way, Tim Riggins doesn't check on people, I don't care how domestic he's gotten. By the way, you two can't go five minutes without making fun of each other for something and you're quiet as a church mouse." Tami arched an eyebrow, her lips pursing. "What happened between you two and tell me right now Gracie because otherwise I'll talk to your father about it. What did Tim say to you? Did he do anything?"

"He didn't do anything," she snapped. That was stupid. Why would she think that? She shook her head again, mumbling. "He's not going to tell you. That's not his deal." Julie told her once about how he'd gotten in trouble with Dad, because she'd gotten drunk and almost in trouble at a party, Tim had taken her home, and Dad walked in on them as he was putting her in bed. She hadn't told him what really happened until a few days later, after Dad had gotten all-mad at Tim though. She wasn't going to do that. She sighed hard, whispering. "I said that I loved him. Before the party, it just slipped out in the kitchen and it was horrible and mortifying and I ran out and now I can't go back in there and he'll hate me forever because I am a stupid, stupid girl! I ruined it!"

To her shock, her mother began to chuckle. Her eyes widened and she pulled away from her, staring. "Mom!" she exclaimed. Why was she laughing!? "This isn't a joke! This is my life! It's over!" She stood up, turning in a circle and throwing her hands in the air. "Tim will hate me forever! He's going to tell Lyla and she's going to think I'm one of those girls that likes older dudes or something, it's awful! She's got a dark side, Julie told me that in high school she once got a girl that was going after Tim to transfer schools because she was so afraid of what Lyla was going to do to her, I mean, what's that mean for me!?"

Okay, so that was taking it a big dramatically, but she didn't care. This was horrible! She stared at her mother for another second, until Tami finally stood up, still smiling. What? What's so funny? Tami wrapped her arms around her tightly, kissing her temple. "Oh Gracie Belle. I was afraid that it was going to be something horrible. You told Tim you loved him? Sweetie, what's wrong with that? You do love him, he's a friend."

"Not like that, he'll think it's something else. I told him I was in love with him, not that I love him."

"Sweetie he's Tim, he's going to forget it tomorrow and honey, we all did silly things when we're teenagers that…that at the time they truly seem like our lives our over but it'll be better. You're going to look on this one day and laugh, believe me," she said, her eyes dancing. Gracie didn't think so, so she continued to frown. This wasn't funny and her mother was laughing? That wasn't fair. "Honey, did I ever tell you about the time that I once got on the speaker system in middle school and proclaimed my love for Brad Wellington?" She grinned, while Gracie's eyes widened. No, she never heard that story. "Well I did. I was thirteen and it was the Sadie Hawkins Dance week. I thought that if I did this grand gesture, because that's what people did in movies, then he'd say yes, he'd go out with me. But nope. He said I humiliated him, I humiliated myself, and I made my mother keep me home for two days saying I was sick because I didn't want to go to school and look anyone in the eye."

"Really?" she whispered. Something told her that she couldn't get away with that.

"Yes. In the end, I missed the dance, Brad went with a girl who asked him out normally, and a few years later I got to go with him to Winter Formal after I asked him out like a normal person would anyway." She rolled her eyes, chucking. "He stepped on my feet, tore my dress, and ended up spending the rest of the evening with one of the head cheerleaders while I gossiped in the corner with my friends. I saw him at my high school reunion a few years back and we laughed about it. In fact, he could barely remember it. Trust me, one day you will laugh that you told Tim Riggins you were in love with him. You told him all the time when you were a little girl."

"Yeah, but I was little!"

"Gracie, I bet if you go up there right now and just say 'are we okay?' Tim is probably going to say yes, make a joke, and forget it ever happened." She took hold of her shoulders, walking her back to the house, continuing. "In fact, I also know that Lyla is not going to do anything about it, so you're safe there too. She's going to find it funny, just like you will one day, I promise."

I doubt that. In some ways, Lyla Garrity kind of freaked her out. It was like there was this darkness underneath the sunny smile. She shook her head. "Mom, I heard she made a girl transfer schools after she tried to get with Tim. She's going to kill me."

"That was a rumor," Tami insisted. "And that other story about her making the other Rally Girl cry is also a rumor. She won't do anything, because she's going to find it funny, like you will, I promise."

Where there's smoke there's fire, Gracie thought, frowning slightly. She also didn't think she was going to find this funny anytime soon. Either way, she went into the house, stopping in her tracks when she saw Tim a few feet in front of her. She swallowed hard, her palms sweating. Just say it. Get it over with like ripping off a bandaid. "Sorry," she blurted out. She shrugged, hoping that she could just dive into the ground and let it swallow her whole in a few minutes. "I didn't mean…sorry. I was…stupid. Sorry." Oh my God, shut up Gracie, she screamed at herself. She tried to smile, but it came out more of a grimace.

To her…sanity, she supposed, Tim smiled a little, pulling another beer out of the fridge. "We're square. Here." He handed her the ginger ale that she liked, that she could only find in Texas. "By the way, you owe me barley."

"I don't owe anything," she said, defensive. It wasn't so bad. Like they were a little back to normal. Besides, what bet was she down on?

He pointed at her with his beer bottle. "You still owe for the Panthers' season opener against Westerbee. I said they'd win by seven and you said they'd lose by a field goal. I won, 21 to 13, that's by seven."

"Yes babe, we know you can do math," Lyla drawled, coming into the kitchen and passing him one of the twins. She smiled darkly. "Now you owe me. Change the diaper. Now."

Tim made a face and glanced down at his only son, shaking his head. "We have got to get you potty-trained. You're two! I can't take any more of this." He looked over at her, smiling quickly. "I'll give you a thousand dollars right now if you do this."

"Do you even have a thousand dollars right now, Tim?" her mother asked, frowning slightly. "Because I'll give you a thousand if that's right."

"An IOU then."

They were kind of already back to normal, even though she was sure that her cheeks weren't going to stop flushing for the next week. She shook her head. "I take cash. Check if you have two forms of identification. You owe me. I will collect by the end of the night." She smiled softly. It seemed okay now. Just a little awkward. "I mean…if you…" She sighed hard when Tim frowned a little at her. Can't be seen as going soft. "Nevermind. I will collect. Go raid Lyla's sock drawer or something."

"She doesn't keep the extra cash in her sock drawer, she keeps it…" He trailed off, opening up a cabinet and removing a can of coffee, popping off the top and reaching in. He removed a slip of white paper, scowling. "Uh oh. Read it, I can't unroll it one-handed." He shifted Ryan to his other arm. "What's it say?"

Gracie unrolled the piece of paper, reading Lyla's perfectly neat writing. "_Ha ha, I moved the extra cash. It's the last place you'll ever look, because you certainly haven't looked there for the last four years. Love, Garrity_." She looked over the top of the paper. "So where is it?"

He narrowed his eyes for a moment, his mouth moving slowly as he sounded out the clue. He shifted Ryan again and then his eyes widened. "Ah! I know!" He pushed a now smelly Ryan against her, running up the stairs. She wrinkled her nose at Ryan, who wrinkled his nose back at her. Shouldn't he be crying, she wondered. She turned around, looking over at her father, who just stared for a second, shook his head slightly and went to the fridge to get another beer. "Don't worry, I don't want kids. Ever," she said. She scowled again. "They stink."

And boys are too difficult, she thought, looking up at the stairs as Tim returned, waving cash in the air. Lyla shouted at him from the living room, wanting to know how he found it and figured out her clue. "Not hard Garrity," he said, passing the cash to Gracie and taking the kid back. He flashed a smile at her when she walked into the room. "Place I haven't looked in four years. The nightstand drawer."

"I knew it was too easy."

What were they even talking about? She thought it was weird that couples did things like that. Her parents could talk without talking. Matt and Julie had weird nicknames for each other. Tyra had a few boyfriends she'd met over the years, but that was one person she knew wouldn't be getting married soon. Then there was Tim and Lyla, who were weird too. They all were.

I think boys are weird, I clearly am not ready, she thought, shaking her head again. She glanced at Steve, who wandered into the kitchen. "So how old do I have to be before you'll go out with me?" he asked. Rather directly.

Holy crap, she thought, her eyes widening. "Huh?" She looked over her shoulder; the adults had all left. Why!? She didn't want to be here alone with him now. She shifted on her feet. "You're thirteen."

"I'll be fourteen in two months."

"And I'll be sixteen in like three weeks." We'll forever be two years apart. It can never work out. She shook her head. "We can't even go out, go out. I live in Pennsylvania."

"Long distance is overrated," Steve said, smiling quickly. He was tall, she instantly thought, squinting at him. She hadn't really noticed that before. Taller than her. His hair was kind of long, falling into his eyes. No, she instantly thought. He was fourteen. Too young. Way, way too young. He smiled again. "Think about it. Maybe when I'm what? Star quarterback or something? Isn't that what you Taylor girls go after?"

She smiled. "Matt wasn't a star quarterback, even ask him."

"Your dad won't let you go out with a Riggins though. Maybe a quarterback."

Maybe a quarterback, but definitely not a Riggins, she thought, smiling again. He was already slightly put off by her friendship with Tim. She reached over and poked his elbow. "Maybe when I move to Texas." Which would probably be never. That would put him off for awhile. She stepped backwards towards the living room, where the party was ongoing. "See you Steve."

"I'm holding you to that!"

Persistent. Wasn't going to win with her though. She went into the living room, sitting beside Lyla, who was with one of the twins, she couldn't remember which one. "So where was the money?" she asked.

Lyla's cheeks turned slightly pink. "Nowhere. I'll just have to find a better spot. Maybe in the diaper box." She smiled again at her, her voice quiet. "Tim told me what happened in the kitchen." Uh-oh, Gracie thought, immediately looking at her. The other woman smiled, sympathetic. "I've been there. I told my first boyfriend I was in love with him. Took him about two weeks before he could say it back to me."

Tim leaned over the couch behind them, frowning. "Didn't he stand under your window and yell for your love or something stupid like that?"

"Sort of," she chuckled. Gracie frowned, listening to the story as Lyla explained to her how Jason Street told her he loved her. She rolled her eyes, jerking her thumb to Tim. "The first time this one said it, he was running out of the house at me after ambushing and stalking me. So there are worse ways."

"Admit it, you liked it," Tim called from across the room.

Julie came over then, sitting down on the other side of her. "Matt and I said we loved each other and it was actually pretty romantic."

I really don't want to hear this stuff, but I guess it's my punishment, Gracie thought, leaning back into the couch while Lyla and Julie began to gush about their teenage love lives, which she learned consisted of just Matt for her sister, even though she knew there was more to a lot of the stories, and same for Lyla. She scowled at Tim, who just shrugged at her across the room, smiling before he went to grab one of his kids from getting into the birthday cake early. Punishment, she thought briefly, pulling her phone out of her pocket and sent a text.

A moment later, Steve pulled out his phone, looking at it and then to her. He smiled, sending back a response. Gracie glanced at the image on her screen, her smile broadening. She began to text back, still acting like she was listening as Lyla broke into a story about how Tim tried to sneak into her room once and almost broke his leg falling from the window, Julie attempting to top it by saying how she would sneak off to the lake with Matt. In the meantime, she kept texting Steve, smiling and giggling at his jokes, returning with her own.


End file.
